Signs, signs, everywhere a sign

Thursday

May 4, 2017 at 5:44 PMMay 4, 2017 at 8:30 PM

When you think of the ‘60s, you no doubt think about these iconic images:

Peace sign

The circular symbol that became ubiquitous in the 1960s and ‘70s was originally the logo for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The lines represent the semaphore, or flag symbols (think of the album cover for The Beatles’ “Help!”), for the letters N and D, for “nuclear disarmament.” In the early ‘60s the symbols made their way from the UK to U.S. college campuses. The V sign — an upraised fist with index and middle finger extended and parted — also became a symbol for peace during the decade’s anti-war protests.

Woodstock logo

Capturing another historic symbol for peace, the dove, artist Arnold Skolnick designed the iconic bird-on-guitar-neck to promote 1969’s Woodstock Music & Art Fair.

Fallout shelter sign

Introduced in the U.S. Dec. 1, 1961, these steel or aluminium signs led the way to safety in case of a nuclear attack. It became synonymous with the Cold War and may still be seen on public buildings that predate the ‘60s and ‘70s.

Andy Warhol’s pop art

Big, bold and vibrant, the movement known as pop art started with such Warhol works as “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and “Marilyn Diptych,” both from 1962. His later work continued to focus on ‘60s icons, from mushroom clouds to Coke bottles to celebrities and current events.

Jackie Kennedy’s pillbox hat

The ‘60s first first lady remains an icon of style and class, and perfectly represented in her pink Chanel suit and pillbox hat the decorum of the decade that died with President Kennedy in 1963. The pillbox hat was a signature of hers that unsurprisingly declined in popularity after that day in Dallas.

Audrey Hepburn’s LBD

Every decade has its style of little black dress, and the 1960’s was iconized by Hepburn in 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”